(LU1VMI=Providing food for meetings when there's none-for-sale there else very near, notably for standard meetings of OCAndroid, SoCalAndroid, & similar)

(LU1VVA=The problem of providing group food for attendees in (a meeting place which doesn't have food there or very nearby))

(LU1Y73 SoCalAndroid leader Jeffery P. 2 days ago emailing me:

Date: Mon, Oct 31, 2011 at 9:18 PMSubject: Re: Meeting Wed. 11/02?... I do not cater and then have people reimburse. I bring a pizza and people give me money [of>if--Destiny] they want. ...

)

(LU1VY2=This SoCalAndroid thread today where, Jeffery announces today's Hack Night meeting as now "This affair is NOT catered and NO pizza." (he doesn't say why the change, but presumably because now there's more attendees so, via his prior arrangement, he could be taken advantage of), to which a member replies "No pizza anymore :-(".

)(LU1W5A=There is hope! But it seems a good solution depends on the number of attendees, not one-size-fits-all.

(LU1W2Y=With just a few attendees, a leader could do as Jeffery seems to have successfully done: afford it s/he didn't get paid back plus be able to consume any left overs him/her-self.(LU1Z8Y=His solution I quote on SoCalAndroid Hack Night's OCAndroid listing 1with

...Please RSVP so I know how much pizza to bring or order. If you indicate you're going to attend then please show up.

and should add to that "and attendees reimburse Jeffrey if they want." -an important point he added in his email.))(LU1W4X=But now with more attendees as is happening, as Jeffery appears to be responding to, I think it will be necessary to do something else to protect the buyers of the food, if just ordinary leaders, from getting stiffed with a big bill and/or more leftovers than they could possibly use.

(LU1X0J=One solution is to get sponsor(s) who could afford any loss here, and possibly even give the food away free.

(LU1X3D=This is what we did at our last big presentation: a2z footed the food bill and gave the food away free, probably because I told them "Since the whole meeting is just about you promoting yourself (your products & jobs & venue), it would be appreciated & often customary for you to provide free food.".)

(LU1X4N=But so far we can't always get a sponsor, perhaps especially for our routine meetings which aren't specifically promoting anyone.)

)

(LU1X8A=So another viable solution is, to do, as Jeffery words it, "cater and then have [attendees] reimburse"

(LU1W7P=Now a couple months ago I tried asking OCAndroid General Meeting attendees to RSVP with their Chipotle order, but none but me followed thru. So while it's clear attendees like to eat food at meetings, it seems attendees just don't want to think about that until they get there.)

(LU1W8A=So how about this:(LU1YM9=This idea is effectively an enhancement of (Jeffrey's solution LU1W2Y) inspired in part by his success with that.)(LU1W90=Event leaders will cater then have those who take the food proportionately reimburse them. Specifically

(LU1WAZ=Event leaders will buy food in advance proportionate to the RSVP YESes (so especially then, RSVP; and if you RSVP YES, please show up).)

(LU1WBZ=Provided attendees share the provided food, every attendee can take as much as s/he wants.)

(LU1WD4=To cover the cost of the provided food an attendee takes, the attendee pays cash directly to the buyer of the food )

(LU1WDJ=The buyer's effective cost of each portion of the food provided will be displayed next to it, as a tag saying "$3 per slice of pizza".(LU1WEA=This cost reimbursed will be higher than the buyer's raw cost to cover where food is bought-but-not-taken or taken-but-not-reimbursed.))

(LU1WK1=Leaders will work to minimize all costs, including this a cost-recovery operation not for-profit.)

(LU1WMB=The current food will be local quality commercial pizza plus soda (ideally cold) in 2 liter bottles and with cups & napkins.)

)(LU1XFH=I like this solution. (LU1ZH2=And if Jeffrey can't front the entire bill now that OCAndroid is also coming, I will front up to $50 towards it, trusting Jeffrey's experienced judgment of how much pizza to buy for the number of attendees our combined groups are bringing.))(LU1ZHE=Thoughts?)(LU1ZI9=Can you do this, Jeffery? If I don't hear a YES from you before 1 hour before today's 6pm meeting, I will then go ahead and do this myself, so either way we can & I will advertise & have food provided for attendees, so no more complaints from members as "No pizza anymore :-(".))

(LU3UDT=7 people actually showed up, and only 5 ate (Jeffery wanted & bought McDonald's and Donna brought a meal, not having known about this). Say Donna knew and ate: this would be about 2 more slices, so then 11 slices total, still 1 slice short of a full large pizza.)

(LU3VEU=The extra leftover pizza was not a problem as it seems to keep well in the fridge.)

(LU3V9D=this suggests we should have ordered around 1/2 as much food. Next time order 1 large 3-topping Roundtable pizza (of 12 slices) per 10 RSVP YES.)

(LC78Q2=2010~-, Members are hand-picked, especially on following basic directions & respecting group rules, including:

(LTECO0=With each other (and ideally everyone), members should (communicate foremost by appropriate posting)LRBX9W and avoid private-messages & calls when possible to avoid. For instance, (LTED3B=News & info about venues is posted on the venue's thread so all can see, benefit, & reply.)(LTED7B=For jobs (recruiters especially, take note!), one (posts the need as a thread in the forum of Jobs Offered & Wanted) and (at least for the reply, encourages reply posts there rather than privately contacting back); the forum's also private so other employers can't see.)(LTECMG=No posting direct contacts (as phone #s & emails) except for carpooling & finding-at-a-group-event.))

MJ6D5O:Membership requires approval, including:

MJD8EG:Answer all your profile Qs fully & accurately else you will not be admitted. Including:

MJD8WF: it's much faster & easier for everyone for you to do it right rather than do it over. Including apps that don't get it right the first time get 2nd priority as for those then we must stop & explain what all to fix and review again before we approve.

MJZ9AD: Notice question MFTRef is 2 sub-questions which then both need full & accurate answers.

( LTE8WN=Last, we have a Head Organizer who, now, and for many weeks during this year, is working more than full-time, unpaid, to make this all happen, especially due to our recent rapid growth; plus increasing new additional leaders (see above), together all making this group the great place that it is.)

LTDSHF: a great intro to Meetup. New to Meetup.com? Welcome to Meetup, too! – the most-powerful major website to find & host in-person groups. If you want, simply use your Facebook to login. Meetup provides you 92,000 in-person local groups: all topics, worldwide, & mostly for free.

MJCNH9: Additional rules & guidelines:

(LC78QC=Completely answer all your profile questions.)

(LC78RR=To ideally share your Interests & Groups (to maintain privacy, use just your first name or a handle for your profile name or have multiple profiles (as one for personal and one for business)).)

(LC78QV=RSVP for at least 2 events (your group title will show your RSVP count).)

(LC78R6=To answer the organizer's private Qs when you RSVP (this info is private: only event hosts can see your answers).)

(LTE8FA=If your involvement with our group helps you get paid work or fill a paidposition, you must let the head of our group know within a week. (LTFJ7P=This group is a free service to the general public and has led many people to find jobs & fill positions; but, per this thread, facilitating all this (finding jobs & good people, and training & meetings & making-connections) and running this group takes hard work and we want & need credit where it's due.))

MJZ3N5: Updates needed including especially to the application process;

MJZ3WB: Merged in and updated to the formatting from OC-Polyamory's latest version MJKNGE including: added this section and cut " --Yes, membership means something here. So, to become & stay a member, you will need to follow some good rules. Most notable, "; pst2013.03.20Tue1505.